


Haven

by BleedingCoffee



Series: Trope Bingo: Round 14 [1]
Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Fic fusion, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Metaphors and symbolism galore, Sheriff! Nathan, Touch Starved Nathan, Trope Bingo Round 14, Troubles (Haven), sherriffs to lovers, with Haven
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22149472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleedingCoffee/pseuds/BleedingCoffee
Summary: A fusion fic of the sci-fi series Eureka & Haven.  Jack Carter ends up stepping foot into a barn in Eureka and lands in Haven: a different small town, with different big secrets.He has a chance at a do-over of his introduction to town, except this time the Sheriff's name is Nathan.   He plays it cool, remembering his mistakes and missteps and all the solutions to what troubled Eureka's scientists, as he tries to figure out a way home.   The question is, when he finds out the way back, does he really want to leave?
Relationships: Jack Carter/Nathan Stark
Series: Trope Bingo: Round 14 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1594222
Comments: 12
Kudos: 41
Collections: Trope Bingo: Round Fourteen





	1. Limbo

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Based, of course, on the Sci-Fic series Haven where Colin Ferguson had a role as the naughty deity William. And there also happened to be a cop named Nathan, but not our beloved snarky scientist- Haven’s Nathan had a “trouble” that affected his ability to feel. Feel anything. Touch, burn, kiss,etc. That's the affliction. He could feel one person, however. :)
> 
> Prompt fill for Trope Bingo Round 14 : Hurt/Comfort.
> 
> This story will be comprised of 4 chapters inspired by the Divine Comedy: Limbo, Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso. The chapter lengths may get a little long as I try to keep with my theme.

* * *

_Haven_

Chapter 1

**Limbo**

* * *

This was usually how Jack's science adventure of the week began, that all too familiar gut feeling of something about to go wrong and him muttering the words, ‘Well that can’t be good’. Something shiny and amazing always turned out to be dark and dangerous under the surface and nobody wanted to admit it until the world was about to end. 

This time, it was different. _This time_ , it was a rustic old barn on the outside and a white and clean hospital-like lab in the interior. Twist on the usual presentation, as the barn looked ready to collapse on the outside but was far from structurally questionable within.

That didn’t make anything better. It was obvious that nothing was in here since the entire place was a huge white, sterile room, and there was _absolutely nothing_ to see here. Instead of turning and leaving the way he came in, he walked across the room to the door on the opposite wall to make sure it didn’t lead to another lab where the horrible thing would be waiting for him. He braced himself for goo or some scientist hiding behind a panel of blinking red lights and warning alarms, and opened the door. It opened to the outside.

When he walked out of the old barn, the hairs on his neck rose immediately and he cautiously looked around him.

It was daylight. When he went it, it was definitely not. This was also _not_ what the back of the Allbright Farm looked like. He shook his head, pulled his gun from it's holster and cursed Eureka for doing this to him again.

He slowly walked to the corner of the barn and peered around it and saw trees and a meadow. He walked to the other side and saw the same. Cursing internally he walked along the side of the barn to the one end that he couldn't see from where he exited. He knew it wasn't going to be where he had come in, it wasn't going to be where Stark and Allison were waiting and his Jeep wasn't going to be there.

And it wasn't.

Sometimes he hated being right.

So he put his gun back in his shoulder holster, then let his hands rest on his hips and finally voiced the string of curses that he had been holding back. He knew why he was now stranded somewhere in the wilderness and it had _nothing_ to do with science; it had _everything_ to do with the basic human emotion of jealousy. Nathan Stark was dying to interrupt his date with Allison, and clearly knew he was setting him up to walk into some kind of...wormhole? Invisibling barn? Matrix? Who the hell knew, it was Eureka and of course the old barn wasn't just an old barn. 

Pissed and ready to give Nathan a piece of his mind, and maybe a large part of his fist, he stormed back over to the door he exited from. He went back in the way he came out and found it to be just a simple barn. The one he had walked out of looked like it could have been a sterile chamber in GD and had been devoid of the country charm that he was currently looking at.

“That can't be good.” He said to nobody in particular as he looked around at the hand-hewn beams and piles of loose straw. He needed to get a better idea of where he was at, it could be that Stark had zapped him to some barn out in the countryside and he was just a stone’s throw from town. Rural Oregon had that kinda thing going for it.

He climbed a ladder into the loft and found another ladder which would take him up to the peak where the hay trolley could be run to the outside. That would give him a place to look out and see if he could see anything from about 35 ft up. Then he could get his bearings and start walking for civilization, hoping there was civilization out there.

Oh he was going to be pissed if this was some time travelling device that sent him back to the Oregon Trail days and he was going to have to ford rivers with oxen and stop people from dying of dysentery! 

He climbed over some hay bales and tested the ladder before climbing onto it. He hated heights. Hated them. Stark knew that. Damn him! He let that anger fuel him to take a couple of deep breaths and quickly started climbing up the wall of the bard. He reached the top of the ladder and looked out across the pasture below, trying to not focus on how far away the ground was and just on how far away civilization was. Rolling hills and dense forest all opened up to a little harbor town that looked quaint but still modern. Not a huge town by any means, the size that seemed to be perfect for a Stephen King novel, but he breathed a sigh of relief none-the-less. There were cars. There were ships. There were cellphone towers. It meant he was still in his own era and home could be just a phone call away.

It also meant that this barn was probably just some transport device of some kind. Stark just wanted to get rid of him by sending him into the barn and shooting him to another town with some wormholing device that screwed with dating his ex-wife! What an _asshole_!!

He descended the ladder and prepared himself for the walk downhill to town in these damned dress shoes.

_Fuck you Nathan Stark, you jealous childish prick._

* * *

He definitely wasn't in Eureka anymore. His first clue was the sign said “Welcome to Haven.”

Haven, _where_?

He felt like he was repeating his entry into Eureka on his first day in town after crashing his car. He and Zoe had walked down this same street looking for a phone or police station. Actually, this town was a replica for Eureka except situated on a scenic harbor. Maybe this was another timeline? Maybe he had a concussion. Maybe it was a joke?

No, it never was a joke. It always was a joke _on him_ because it was science. Especially when Stark was involved.

He didn't want a do-over, he didn't want to have to go through all of those years of earning people's trust and figuring out his place among them again. However, it was going to be how he played it because he wasn't sure of what this was. He needed to be less aggressive than he had been on his Eureka Day 1. In hindsight, he had been a bit of a dick and it didn't help his cause any. He was going to play it cool, just in case this was another timeline.

Because _that_ was the sort of thing he could rationalize happening in his line of work, thanks to Eureka. He sighed and walked the familiar walk into town and considered that his chances of this being a concussion or an alternative universe were pretty much even odds. The concussion would explain why everything was exactly the same as Eureka, as it was a familiar background for his mind to play for him, but it gave equal footing to this being a different world where his town was positioned somewhere else.

Or _maybe_ this was something to do with Zoe seeing a car leaving Eureka that first day they were driving into town? 

Or it could be all of the above. 

He groaned and ran his hands through his hair as he walked. He knew he should have listened to her when she told him to buy another suit or wear something different! This was the same suit he wore that first day and now he was repeating it! This was going to be a time loop event, like Groundhog Day or something like that, just because he didn't take his kid's fashion advice!

He arrived at the police station and saw _his_ Jeep and Jo's car. The logo was different, because this was Haven and not Eureka, but the stuff was all the same. His stuff. Oh...this was going to be weird if he walked in there and he was at his desk. He knew that wouldn't be the case as soon as he looked in his Jeep, because it was organized and had a ticket book on his middle console instead of a cup of old coffee.

He looked at the door to the Sheriff’s department and realized there was no point in delaying it now. Now was time to find out what flavor of science fiasco of the week it was before someone asked why he looked like he was going to steal a cop car. He waved at some kid, that Oppenheimer kid, and took a step towards the door. He paused with his hand on the handle, bracing himself because he knew he wasn't Sheriff here. He could feel it. He felt in his pockets with his left hand and looked for his own identification and found none. He did have a gun. That might be bad, _again_ , when Lupo saw it and flipped his ass over and sat on him.

_Might as well get this over with_. With a deep breath he walked into his office and prepared himself to see who was the Sheriff of Haven.

What he wasn't prepared for was to walk in and see Nathan Stark, _Nathan Stark wearing his uniform and sitting at his desk!_

“Can I help you?”

Oh, and he _was nice_?!? That tone was genuinely helpful sounding. Just like his first day at GD before they got caught up in fighting over Allison .“Uh…”

“Sorry. I'm Sheriff Stark.” Nathan said and came around his desk to greet the man standing there in shock. He looked like he had just walked through the fields in order to get to town. He wasn't local. “Did you need help? Can I be of assistance?”

OK, _this was real_. There was _no way_ Nathan Stark would _ever_ wear his polyester uniform, even as a joke. No way he would be able to keep a straight face this long while being sincere and helpful. Never! A smirk would have appeared by now. Even if he had a concussion, his bruised and bleeding brain would know this sight was damned near impossible. It was looking like an alternative reality for sure! Time to play it cool. “Yeah, I'm U.S. Marshall Jack Carter. I started walking after I got stranded. I must have dropped my I.D. l'm carrying, by the way.”

“Welcome to Haven, Marshall.” Nathan said as the man flashed his weapon. He held out his hand to shake. Carter took it and relaxed and Nathan felt the warmth of his hand, felt _him_. He looked at him and didn't let go of his hand.

Jack could tell something was off. _Fuck me if he has my perception and cop intuition because his brain works on an IQ of 111._ “Problem, Sheriff? It's the gun, isn't it? I can put it on the desk...”

“No, sorry.” Nathan let go. “Just rare that we get a US Marshall in these parts. Never really happened that I am aware of.”

“I'm pretty lost.” Jack admitted. “Maybe you have a phone I can use? I'm sure you need to check my credentials and I should report in.”

“Yeah.” Nathan said and forced a smile as his brain screamed at him to touch the Marshall again to make sure it wasn’t his imagination. “Use my desk.”

Use his desk!? His Nathan, or rather _Eureka’s_ Nathan, acted like his desk was an altar to worship him in front of and Jack always sat on it or leaned on it to piss him off. He walked over to his desk and suppressed his surprise. “Um thanks.”

“Want a cup of coffee?”

Coffee too!? _What the fuck was this place!_ He was probably dead. That had to be it. This wasn’t 'Haven' it was 'Heaven' and someone just stole the ‘E’ off the sign. Nathan Stark was here to serve and protect because he caused his untimely death and was having to pay an awful penance for it. “I'm sure you have more important things to do than...”

“Be cordial to a fellow law enforcement officer who obviously walked all the way from the highway into town?” Nathan was already pouring him a cup, using his own mug. He needed to occupy himself with something to try and get a hold of his own shock. He.. _felt_ that handshake. He didn’t feel anything but he felt _that_. 

Jack looked around, trying to determine where he was by the map of town, the phone book, the notes and stuff all over a board. He stood up and went over to it, remembering that his first exposure to Eureka started with a missing kid. _Deja vu all over again._ “Looks like you've lost someone.”

Nathan spilled the coffee on his hand and didn't realize it until it started rolling off the counter and onto the floor. Well, clearly, he was back to himself and not feeling _anything_ as his hand showed signed of being scalded. He grabbed a towel to start cleaning it up before the Marshall asked why the clumsy Sheriff was trying to burn his skin off with his coffee. “Yeah. Um...little short staffed right now as my people are out looking for a missing boy. Small town, gotta take shifts.”

“Kidnapped?” Jack asked as he turned around to see what spilled. Nathan was mopping up coffee with a towel. Talk about shit you didn't see everyday; Nathan Stark on one knee wiping the floor with a towel. Great ass though, that never changed. As he bent over and wiped up the spill, Jack saw his hand was red and put two and two together. “Did you burn yourself?”

“Yeah.” Nathan said waved off the Marshall who came over to assist with the first aid kit off the wall. He stood up and tried to not look embarrassed but failed. “Like I said, short staffed and we've been putting in a lot of hours so..”

Jack understood that feeling of being fueled by nothing but coffee because of a drive to save someone before it was too late. Sleep was never an option. It also meant the Sheriff probably wasn't thinking about himself, so he went over and turned on the cold water and pulled his hand into the sink. He’d figure out what the hell was going on later, right now someone was clearly in need of help and he wasn’t going to ignore any of that. “Maybe I can help? I have a lot of experience in these situations?”

“In someone not paying attention and pouring coffee on themselves?” Nathan hissed as he felt the burn now that Carter had taken a hold of his wrist to take care of the injury. It took everything in him to not cry out, the intensity of never feeling and suddenly feeling a touch and then pain? That was a bit overwhelming. 

“I meant the kid.” Jack said and Nathan looked at him again with a look he couldn't figure out. This was definitely not his Nathan. Well not _his_ , but Eureka's. Yeah.

“It's a small town, Marshall. You saw yourself that there aren't many ways to get here and with only 2,000 people we all know a stranger when we see one.”

“So a runway then?” Jack asked. “I have experience with those too.”

The radio crackled to life. “ _Stark? Come in. Over_.”

Jack turned off the water and let the Sheriff dry off his own hand. It was good to hear Jo, even if it wasn't his Jo. Kinda funny to think of her working with Nathan instead of him. He wondered if they teased each other about those girly magazines she liked. “Sorry about that, habit to just jump in and help people.”

“I appreciate it.” Nathan said and kept the towel on his hand and pointed to the coffee. “Help yourself to cream and sugar, fridge is stocked with whatever you'd like.”

“ _Stark. There's a situation at Henry's station. Over._ ”

Jack made his coffee. Jo would never give up her protocol 'over'. Over _her dead body,_ over. _Some things never change._

Nathan picked up the radio. “Go for Stark.”

Jack smiled at that. He didn't know why Nathan doing his job and being sincere about it was kinda...endearing? He drank his coffee and raised his eyebrows. Well they obviously had a Vincent here.

“ _I think you need to get out here. Over._ ”

“How bad?” Nathan asked.

“ _It's Henry's. Over_ ”

Nathan turned to see Carter watching him, a hint of amusement on his face. “We're a little old school around here.”

“You know, you're supposed to say 'over'.” Jack said, echoing words from a year ago, words out of Nathan’s son’s mouth. He wondered if Callister was here. He wondered if Ally and Kevin were here. He kinda wanted to find out what everyone's alter-ego was like.

“Yeah, it drives her crazy.” Nathan said with a smile. “I, uh, have to go...”

“I'll come with you.” Jack said and put his cup down and noticed it said 'Best Boss' on it under the Sheriff's Department Logo. Oh! He was definitely in the Twilight Zone! “I mean, I'm the new guy in town. Don't have credentials. Kid's missing. I'm kinda a suspect. I'm sure you're thinking about locking my ass up and that's not going to help your missing kid. So I'll go with you. I have a lot of experience with this kinda thing, really.”

“Trust me, you don't.” Nathan said but went to get his jacket off the coat hanger anyway. “I appreciate the offer to keep an eye on you though.”

Jack nodded. “Want to bandage that hand first?”

“Are you a Marshall or a medic?”

“I get injured a lot, on the job.” Jack said and opened the first aid kit knowing what was in there. This wasn't Eureka, though, so the stuff was just plain old first aid stuff and not magical medical supplies. Burn cream was just that, not some instant fix. "Burn cream, gauze, wrap it and you'll be good to go."

Nathan was holding his jacket when Jack came over with the supplies in his hand. He gave him a nod and held out his hand, becoming quickly addicted to this _feeling_ of feeling. He didn't even care about the searing pain of the burn and blisters forming, he felt his heart pound as he felt Jack take his hand in his, spreading around the cool cream and then place a gauze pad on it. He almost grabbed his hand when he took it away to get the bandage, but restrained himself only because Carter was so quick to return. He knew Jo was going to see something was wrong immediately, he hoped he could get out of the car and pull her aside to tell her what was going on before Carter touched him again otherwise the Marshall might get his arm ripped out of its socket.

“Well, that should take care of it for the time being.” Jack said and returned the supplies to the box and put it away, habit because he never wanted anyone to see how much he used the damned thing.

“I have to admit, I never thought the Marshall Service was this helpful.” Nathan said. “I expected, if any Feds showed up, then it would be to take over my office and tell me how to do my job.”

“Yeah.” Jack put the kit away and shrugged. Yeah, he _had_ been that guy. “Without a wallet or money I'm going to be relying on the kindness of strangers until I rectify that. So, trying to build up some good karma.”

“Ah.” Nathan said and wondered if this was some kind of trouble. Someone he could _feel_ , coming into town, _touching_ him, looking for a place to stay. More than likely Carter was troubled and wasn’t some kind of soulmate or something. To be determined. “I don't think that will be a problem, Marshall.”

“Yeah, I'm sure the bed in the cell is comfy.” Jack said and walked to the door, knowing he probably freaked Nathan out and was going to end up in there somehow. He left the building ahead of the Sheriff and had to make sure he didn't go straight for his Jeep or say 'Let’s go find Brian!' and get himself thrown in jail sooner than he did the first time. He really wanted to see this version of Eureka and figure out what it's deal was. Clearly it wasn't the science capital of the world, so what made Haven special?


	2. Inferno

_ Haven _

**Chapter 2**

Inferno

* * *

Jack had never ridden in the passenger seat of his Jeep and it was  _ absolutely surreal _ . It felt like he was looking at the flipside of life; where Nathan was in the driver’s seat, wearing his uniform, and driving within the speed limit, while the all too familiar sirens blared on the way to Henry’s Garage. The scenery of Eureka, or rather Haven, was the same, except that Main Street dipped down a hill to the harbor. They passed by the same stores he knew and plenty of familiar faces. Something was off though, maybe it was seeing things in the natural light of a town not covered by an EM field?

Or maybe it was the people. 

He never realized it until now how optimistic and full of life Eureka was. Yeah, there was a ton of stress and some disaster always looming, but none of that really phased the people of town. They were looking forward to a new day, unless it was evaluation day, as discoveries were just waiting to be made. Their world was masterfully crafted to help them do just that. They lived in a great town surrounded by the best of the best: fellow geniuses and Nobel Laureates, unrivaled health care, unheard of technology at their fingertips, topped off with the best education in the world for their kids. They were happy because it was a town full of people just like them--everyone a genius; they could talk with anyone without dumbing things down and could push themselves to get better because of it.

Well, everyone except for him. He looked over at Nathan and wondered if he was stupid now, and that’s why he was nice.

“So where are you from, Marshall?”

“L.A.” Jack said, it was his natural answer, he would always be from L.A. even if he did make Eureka his new home. He appreciated how much of Nathan’s verbal cadence was still there, how much he still sounded like the scientist he knew, but the words just didn’t have that edge to them.  _ Surreal.  _

“Wow.” Nathan said and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “How the hell did you end up in Maine?”

_ That  _ was the question of the day. “Tracking a fugitive.”

“In Haven?”

It wasn’t a question of skepticism, there was no sarcasm in his voice, which was  _ so  _ damned weird. It was a question of concern from the local Sheriff who needed to know if there was a Federal fugitive in his town, where a kid was also missing. “No. I took a wrong turn and ended up here on the way to the last known location.”

Nathan nodded and knew Jo was going to yell at him for not checking the Marshall’s credentials, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. He was going on instinct and it told him Carter was the real deal. 

“So, about this missing kid?” Jack said, hoping to diver questions away from him and to someone else.

“Yeah, Brian Perkins.” Nathan said. “He went missing about a day ago. He’s eight, no history of running away. Just vanished as parents were trying to pack up for a vacation.”

“Is this incident at Henry’s connected?” Jack asked, knowing it damned well was. They were already deviating from the way things went the first time because Brian wasn’t missing until the RV got rear-ended by a wormhole. Oh and Stark was here, something that was not the case when he first was introduced to Eureka. 

“Not sure.” Nathan answered and they turned right on Old Post Road to drive along the harbor to Henry’s Garage. “My Deputy is pretty good about keeping things short and sweet on the radio. Small town, big mouths.”

“Do you have a lot of trouble in a small town like this?” Jack asked and Nathan tensed and gave him a super weird look. “Sorry. Uh, just asking. Didn’t mean to offend you…”

It was just a word choice, Carter didn’t know what he said actually meant something more in Haven. “No offense taken. I’m sure we seem like we’re primitive up here in comparison to big city crime, but we do have our issues. As any town does. Small towns have a lot of secrets.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Jack mumbled and Nathan quirked an eyebrow. To cover up that statement about Eureka he offered up another explanation for that statement. “A fellow Marshall is from Kentucky and the amount of shit that goes on down there can rival any big city. I have nothing against small towns or the people who live there, nothing primitive about wanting to surround yourself with nature instead of concrete. I love camping, I just find myself camping out in cheap motels more than the beautiful places in the country I’m devoted to protecting.”

“A US Marshall is on the road, a lot huh?” Nathan asked and saw him nod in affirmation. Then he pressed a little further than he should have but he needed to know. “Must be difficult on the family.”

“Yeah. Ended my marriage.” Jack shrugged. “I guess a lot of things did, but my job was definitely the #1 topic of discussion.”

“Here we are.” Nathan said as he digested this new information, not that it meant anything, as they pulled up to Henry’s and Jo noticed immediately that he had a passenger. He put the Jeep in park and Carter was out of the car instantly, walking straight for the huge tarped object and caution tape next to the gas pump. He got out and put his arm on the roof of his Jeep and gave Jo the ‘take it easy’ look before calling Carter back. “Marshall? If you don’t mind?”

“Uh...yeah.” Jack said as he reached out for the caution tape and had to take his hand back. “Sorry. Habit.”

“Who the hell is this?” Jo demanded as she walked over to Nathan who was hovering at his car, obviously calling her over for a private meeting. 

“Says he’s a US Marshall, no ID. Has a gun.” Nathan reached out and grabbed her arm before she could go disarm the guy. “I feel he’s genuine.”

“Feel? You can’t feel.” She reminded him and saw his face soften a little. Then she saw the bandage on his hand. “Nathan?”

“I can feel  _ him _ .” He said, barely above a whisper because saying it was admitting the impossible. “I felt him.”

“ _ How much _ did you feel him?” She asked.

“Hey.” He said and her smirk told him that she read him like a book. Yes, the guy was attractive and apparently divorced but none of that added up to being into other men. “It’s not like that.”

“Yet.” She said. 

“Wishfully thinking.” Nathan said with a tight grin and she relaxed a little.

“Well, I’m glad you can feel this stranger, and are attracted to him,  _ but _ he’s still a stranger with a gun and I’d like to remind you that I  _ attract bullets _ . I can feel those too.”

“I know.” Nathan said and ran his fingers over the lights on the roof of his car, looking at the bandage Carter had put on him. “I don’t know if he’s troubled or what.”

“Well,” Jo looked over the car as Carter slipped under the tape and ducked under the tarp covering the RV. “He’s trouble, so either you get him out of our crime scene or I will.”

“Shit.” Nathan said and slammed the door shut and started walking away only to be impeded as he was pulled by something.

“You ok?” Jo asked. 

“I can’t feel you?” Nathan said. “I guess I’m back to normal.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Jo gave him an admonishing look.

“I don’t know.” He replied and backed away from her, offering a shrug, and then went after his guest Marshall who was not good about respecting his authority or listening to directions. He ducked under the tape, waved to Henry, went under the tarp and bumped into Carter as he turned to look at him. He felt  _ that _ .

“Sorry.” Jack said and held up a chocolate wrapper. “I found this and it’s recent. I think your missing boy may not be missing afterall.”

“Marshall…” Nathan said and Carter just kept going, like a dog on the scent of it’s quarry. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do but this is an active crime scene and has nothing to do with…”

Jack lifted up the window seat and revealed a small boy, face covered in chocolate. “Brian?”

Nathan felt like his head was swimming. First Carter’s touch and then he solves the crime within minutes of getting out of the car? To cover up his shock he bent down and looked the boy in the eye. “Brian? Were you hiding in here the entire time?”

Brian nodded his head and licked chocolate off his fingers.

“So who reported him missing?” Jack asked. “And are they in possession of a device of some sort that could blast a perfect hole in the back of this RV?”

Nathan cleared his throat as Jack pointed to the huge hole in the back of the recreational vehicle. “This is the Perkins family RV. The hole is probably from a gas leak explosion.”

“No it isn’t.” Jack said and stood up. He put his hand on Nathan’s shoulder and asked, “So what’s really going on in this town, Sheriff?”

Nathan was about to comment when someone else entered the RV and he looked up and saw Lupo ready to pull Carter right out of the vehicle. “Wait! Jo! JO! ”

One thing was for certain, Haven’s Jo Lupo was just as agile and strong as Eureka's.

* * *

“Troubles?” Jack asked as he sat on the cot in the jail cell with an ice pack on his neck.  _ Just like the first time _ . So much for not making the same mistakes he made before. Small but scrappy Josephina didn't like him overstepping his authority or touching her boss. This was going to be fucking weird if they were an item in the Twilight Zone Eureka.

Nathan put his head against the bars of the jail cell. “Yeah, our town is unique. Our people are unique.”

“I deal with some weird stuff.” Jack said and Jo looked at him like she was going to come through the bars and kick his ass again. Was she really that protective  _ of Nathan! _ ?

“Troubles aren't something I can easily explain.” Nathan said and realized Troubles were the only explanation he had to give to the recently verified US Marshall Jack Carter as to why his Deputy had yanked him out of an RV, body slammed him into the pavement, cuffed him and threw him head first into her cruiser. There was only the truth and he would rather sound like some crazy small town cop than let his Deputy get into trouble for brutalizing a Federal Marshall. Jo knew it too, she had talked to Deputy Marshall Givens on the phone and realized that she could be in real trouble. He wasn't sure what to do with Carter now, so he hadn't let him out of the cell yet. To protect the town, he wasn't sure how far he would have to go.

“Try me.” Jack said and took the ice pack off to shrug and move his stiffening muscles. How the hell did she do that? She could toss him around like a rag doll in any universe and it was about time he swallowed his pride and asked for lessons. 

“The thing is…. it's more unexplained.” Nathan said and wasn’t sure how to really explain Troubles to someone who wasn’t from Haven. It never happened. You were raised hearing about the Troubles as a local legend, listened to the Reverend preach about the afflicted as if they were sinners and demons, and inevitably found yourself struggling with troubles of your own. Nobody asked for explanations because it always came back to being  _ cursed _ . This was New England, and it was steeped in religion and history and that was not something you could remove from any equation.

“Yeah, I deal with a lot of that too.” Jack coaxed. He could see Nathan struggle with the words to express what these Troubles were, while Jo watched her boss and finally gave in and spoke for him. This place was  _ so weird! _

“Troubles are not explained by science, they are a curse.” Jo finally stepped in and said what Nathan wouldn’t. The Marshall needed to understand this wasn’t some ‘problem’, that it was their lives. “A curse, passed from generation to generation. Curses need to be broken, but around here the people are seen as broken or break themselves. You have no idea what we’re dealing with here.”

Jack put the ice pack back on his neck and watched Jo walk back over to her desk, walking off her discomfort. He knew when his Jo was annoyed with herself for being emotional. She was Troubled. 

“People who are Troubled can manipulate time, matter, their own body, minds. Troubles are an affliction. ” Nathan explained. “An affliction you don’t know you have until you find out that the problem plaguing the town is your doing. These aren’t super powers.”

“I attract bullets.” Jo said as she circled her desk and walked up beside her boss and poked him and almost shoved him over. “Nathan can't feel things, which is why he burned himself and didn't react.”

Jack narrowed his eyes at Nathan. “But you  _ did react,  _ to me.”

“Yeah.” Nathan said. “I can't feel anyone or anything else. You're the first.”

“So, are you troubled?” Jo demanded of Carter as her boss got that wistful sound to his voice. She might not be able to break a curse but she could sure as hell break this guy if he was going to hurt Nathan.

“I'm not from around here.” Jack offered as an explanation.

“He’s from L.A.” Nathan said to Jo.

Jack shook his head and threw the ice pack on the cot. No, like not  _ here _ here. Like another universe or dimension or something. He couldn't believe he wanted to scream that the troubles all are caused by science. But he couldn't say that, he had to show them. He had to...play smart.  _ Oh boy _ . 

“Is he troubled?” Jo asked. "You can feel him, that is  _ the only way _ that this makes sense."

“He's not from Haven.” Nathan said as she pulled him away to try and talk semi-privately. “There have never been instances of outside people having troubles. That's the whole point of this town!”

“Do you have any relatives that might have lived in Maine at any point?” Jo asked Carter.

“No?” Jack said and stood up and went over to the bars. “So Troubles only happen here? Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Nathan answered. “We have several very dedicated individuals who record and track all afflicted people. We’re protective of our little secret as none of us want to be locked up in some lab and studied.”

“So this town, it's a haven for people afflicted with the troubles?” Jack asked. Like Eureka is a haven for people afflicted with a lack of concern for public safety?

“Yeah. That’s the way it’s been for hundreds of years.” Nathan said. 

“But the Perkins RV...,” Jack said, suddenly understanding that high that Nathan or Henry must feel when they explained a problem with science; that excitement, that confidence that the unexplainable was being brought into the light and solved. “I’ve seen this before. Their RV was eaten by a wormhole. Not some trouble, it’s a scientific device.”

“No. It’s a trouble. There is no device.” Jo said curtly. "Don't you think that we've tried to explain it and fix it with science? Or do you suddenly know so much more than us, US Marshall who hasn't told is why he was even here? The guy who alleged got lost, even though his job is to track fugitives? Your credentials check out but your supervisor sounded surprised that you ended up in Maine tracking this guy.". 

Jack smiled at her, at least Jo was the same. She took that smile poorly and looked like she wanted to rip it off his face. He couldn’t believe his credentials checked out, probably because he had given them Raylan Givens desk phone number and he knew his old friend would understand and play along. It worried him that it worked, though. It meant if this was some parallel universe that there could be another him floating around and he doubted that version of him would be cool with a Doppelganger. So he was on borrowed time and had to help them solve their problem so he could go home before  _ he _ ended up in some lab being studied. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be easy because they had their secrets to protect and he was obligated to protect Eureka’s. “Ok, so how do you save people from their Troubles if there isn’t a scientific explanation? I imagine the town wouldn’t be here if these things were allowed to happen without regulation of some kind. Stuff of this nature has a way of always trying to end the world.”

"We help the Troubled figure out what's causing it and help them control it." Nathan said. "Often times it's stress and they are unaware that this is their doing. We do damage control too."

Jack raised his eyebrows.  _ Nathan Stark  _ was concerned about people being stressed out and helped them get control of their abilities and fix the damages?  _ What?!  _ “Damage control, like ‘a gas leak’?”

“Yeah.” Nathan said and heard Jo crack her knuckles. “Easy, Jo.”

"Can I help by explaining the science of what is going on?” Jack asked and that sentence tasted weird coming from his mouth. It tasted like bullshit and fraud but it seemed like his best way to go. This was like that ‘stupid chicken incident’, where the town was too dumb to save itself from organic, cloned, disgustingly farmed chicken breasts. He had helped that time, this time his help was going to be from memories of issues he had helped fix. He offered a scientific explanation. “It looks a lot like a rift caused by a Tachyon Accelerator."

It was Nathan's turn to raise his eyebrows. "You said you were a US Marshall?"

"I told you, I deal with weird stuff." Jack said and shrugged. "I've dealt with stuff  _ like this _ . I'm not a scientist. I fix what they screw up."

"And that is the job of a US Marshall, how?" Jo asked and crossed her arms and set her jaw.

"Witness protection." Jack said. Eureka kinda was like witness protection, except the danger came from the witnesses while GD provided them way too much protection. "I'd like to help if you're done kicking my ass, GI Josephina."

"You're pushing it Carter." Jo said and glared at him.

"Jo." Nathan reached out and tugged on her sleeve to get her attention. "We could use the help."

"We got it handled."Jo said and shoved him back. 

Jack watched them in awe. Nathan and Jo getting along, like friends. They had their own unique way of communicating. Huh. Jo liked to nudge him like that when she was teasing him about Allison. "Seems like you were all a little surprised by the severity of that trouble. Like maybe the missing kid was reported missing because his Troubled parents thought they might have harmed him accidentally? Maybe because his parents got in a fight or got stressed by something their kid did and triggered a trouble? I’m divorced, I’m a parent. As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes you get overwhelmed and lose your temper and you never release who is listening."

"Come on, Jo." Nathan stood up and grabbed his keys. "He's right."

“Weird that he just accepts this without question and has all the answers, isn’t it?” Jo asked. 

“It’s my job. I have to react to the situation and not question it.” Jack said. “After a while you just roll with it.”

“He could be troubled.” Nathan said and she rolled her eyes. “It could be why he was drawn here?”

“You have some kind of troubled people homing beacon?” Jack asked then thought about that guy who wrangled Zane Donovan for GD. “Or like, A talent scout?”

“You’re the first to come to Haven, with no known family connection, with a potential trouble.” Nathan offered. “We should check the records office and make sure you don’t have family from here somewhere down the line.”

"OK." Jack said.

Nathan turned to look at his Deputy and asked, "OK?"

"You're the boss." She said and threw up her hands and walked back to her desk. “Maybe when you’re out with your new partner you can ask him to show you were he left _his car_?”

"Really?" Nathan asked and turned to look at her and she swirled the jail keys around his finger, before tossing them in the air at him. He was surprised she was OK with turning Carter loose, especially since one phone call could have 50 Marshalls here by morning. 

"Really." She said and looked sternly at him, and sat down at her desk.

Jack couldn't help but smile at them. They had their language! This was so weird! Did he and Jo do this? "So what's the verdict?"

Nathan went over and unlocked the cell. Jo was going to go place a bet on him and the new guy as soon as he left. She was also going to call highway patrol and ask about any cars that were abandoned. "That we're going out to find Walter, but first we need to make a stop and get the genealogy department tasked on tracking your family tree". 

Jack stepped out of the cell and recalled this was the point when Allison took him to GD and read him his rights. He wondered what what Global Dynamics in Haven.

* * *

"The newspaper?". Jack asked incredulously . This was their Global Dynamics?  _ The newspaper office _ ? 

"We're a little old school."Nathan explained.

"Sheriff! We heard you found Brian. '' Fargo lunged for the door, shoving Larry aside.

"Is this the Marshall we heard about?" Larry came over and shoved Fargo back.

"Yes and yes. " Nathan said and held the door for Carter. "This is Marshall Carter, he found Brian and is going to help us find Walter."

“Really?” Fargo asked.

“Yeah, I have some experience with wormholes and if I’m right, the back of the RV won’t be destroyed, just somewhere else.” Jack said and to his surprise both Larry and Fargo looked at him with blank faces, totally confused. 

"Does he have a PhD from MIT?" Fargo asked. 

"No, my baseball scholarship didn't pan out." Jack said sarcastically. Apparently Fargo just pushed his buttons in any universe. He softened up and added, "But because of that I get to lead an enriching life as a US Marshall who has to deal with scientists on occasion. So I'd like some background on Walter's trouble to see if I can help before more than an RV gets wormholed."

“Baseball?” Fargo asked and looked to Nathan. “We are looking for new players for our softball league, are you sticking around?”

“We?” Jack asked, caught up by the fact that Fargo looked at Nathan like that statement included him. He glanced at Nathan.

“The Sheriff is our team captain.” Fargo said proudly. “All Star catcher back in high school.”

Nathan... _ played baseball!?! _ ? A Catcher!? Holy shit! Haven was like an amusement park instead of Eureka's house of horrors. “Well, I don’t think I’m going to be in town that long.... _but_ if I stay awhile, I wouldn’t mind a game.”

Fargo handed him an application but didn’t let go as Carter grabbed it. He narrowed his eyes. “What position and when was the last time you played?”

“Now you ask?” Jack snorted. Fargo was still Fargo, hit the button and then ask questions. “I’m Captain of my league team back in L.A. Back in high school, I had a scholarship to go pitch for UCLA before my shoulder got torn up.”

“We’ll verify.” Fargo tapped the line about high school and college information.

“Sure.” Jack said and realized the softball team would probably be his undoing on a background check. Opposite World him probably played rugby or something. “Anyhow, back to Walter and his trouble.”

"Troubles aren’t about science." Larry said, and held his head up high. .

“So I’ve heard.” Jack said. So Larry was also troubled, big surprise there.

"What does a Marshall have to do with scientists?” Larry asked skeptically.

“I protect them from themselves.” Jack offered. “When the job calls for it. Technology can be pretty cutthroat.”

“I figured it was about cooking drugs.” Fargo said thoughtfully.

“That too.” Jack said. Small towns did have their drug problems, and he remembered Fargo and friends happily experimenting with speed drugs to get work done. "Back to Walter. What is trouble  _ exactly _ ?"

"When stressed he can sort of….move faster than you can see and he leaves behind a wake of destruction from moving that fast. But he's never gone missing before." Fargo explained. 

“Might have something to do with the fact that he thought he killed his kid with his trouble.” Nathan finally spoke up and sat down on the desk. These two could take a while to get to the point. 

“Is his wife troubled?” Jack asked. Walter was a problem, but he knew Susan had her issues too.

“Shes….” Larry wasn’t sure how to put it and Fargo jumped right in on his hesitation.

“Undead.” Fargo said. “Came back from the dead after he accidentally killed her.”

“Are you sure she’s not just a clone or something?” Jack asked. He had to.

“She started knocking on her coffin at the funeral.” Nathan said and Jack looked at him somewhat disappointed that he wasn’t right, but not mortified by that like he would expect. “Let’s just say it gave the Reverend something to preach about for a while and the medical examiner a lot of grief.”

“Does this happen often? Do you have a standard undeading form around here?” Jack asked amused, but also to see how similar Haven was to Eureka.

“Can’t say that we do.” Nathan replied and felt himself smiling back at Carter, enjoying his relaxed way of interviewing people and his easy going personality. Fargo and Larry started nudging each other, obviously planning to place some bets as well. _God dammit_. 

“What kind of trouble is that?” Jack had to ask. “Can’t die or she comes back to life because she’s too stressed out of the idea of her husband and kid being left alone?”

“She’s only died once, that we know of.” Fargo offered.

“Probably more times than they told you if Walter thought he killed his kid.” Jack replied and Fargo and Larry seemed shocked by that implication. He instead looked back at Nathan who was a better source of information than these two. _He_ got it. He didn’t need things explained to him, he saw where he was going with this. 

“I think if I ask her about the RV she will tell me that she was trying to get Walter out of town before he did more damage.” Nathan agreed with him. “Want to ask?”

“I do.” Jack said. “First I would be a little more comfortable with understanding what exactly their troubles are and how we stop them, so we don’t end up stuck in space-time or wormholed in half because we scared them.”

“Why don’t you tell us what  _ you _ think it is?” Larry challenged. “ _ Mr. Science. _ ”

Jack snorted in amusement but still wanted to smack Larry for that. “Fine. I think it looks a lot like a Tachyon Accelerator I had to deal with out in Oregon. Tachyon particles are a bitch. Maybe he's stuck in the time stream? Stuck between seconds?" 

"How…." Nathan looked at him confused.

"Tachyon Accelerators can create a temporal explosions and when you try to correct that there can be a cascading effect." Jack said, feeling like he just plagiarized Henry's work. He was happy he could remember things pretty clearly since he really didn't know what the fuck any of that meant. He said it with confidence though and that was all it took. He hoped nobody asked for clarification but they looked at him as...well, like him: clueless, impressed, waiting for someone to explain how to fix it. "Basically he needs a machine that will...do some temporal stabilization."

"Or a person". Nathan said. "We need someone who can remove time."

"Sure?" Jack said, still mentally celebrating the fact that he nailed that explanation. He was tapped out on info and it wasn't really his thing to craft the fix, just find the right person and make them do it.

"Jason Anderson can take away time." 

Jack bit his lip. He hoped Jason wasn’t a fraud here, that would waste time. If he was, it would come up especially if this was about stress and Kim was the one getting anxious and the one with the trouble. He was already adapting to this new world and it didn’t feel like it was all that weird to do it. His job...really made him pretty versatile.. "We don't want to take  _ away _ time, if he’s stuck in it, as much as stop him from being stuck in it. Got someone who can maybe _ reset _ time? Maybe we can kick him out of the place he’s stuck?"

"Leo Weinbrenner." Fargo said.

Jack shrugged. He didn't recognize that name. "What's he do?"

"He can create time loops." Larry offered.

"Like...Groundhog Day?" Jack asked. Oh boy, did he not like the sound of that.

"Exactly"

"You're thinking he can send Walter back to the beginning of the day to stop himself from getting….stressed?" Jack asked. “Is that how things work around here?”

“More along the line of breaking him out of being caught between seconds, like you said.” Nathan crossed his arms. “I think hitting him with a time loop might throw him out of the time stream he’s caught in and shake him enough to come back to being…stable. Then we can work on calming him down. Or Susan can, since she is immune to death. What do you think? You’re the science expert.”

He felt like he was just kicked for a loop through a couple timelines hearing  _ that  _ come out of Nathan’s mouth. “Not really expert, I just learn things as I go. But yeah, I think that sounds like the way to go if you don’t have someone who can stabilize him? I sort of hate to mess with time too much.”

“We’ll open our records to see who else can influence time.” Fargo said and watched Nathan roll his eyes.

“You do that and call me with your solutions.” Nathan stood up and walked to the door. “The Marshall and I are going to interview Susan.”

“10-4 Sheriff!” Fargo said and gave him a salute. He gave the Marshall a pen, tapped the team application and said. "If you don't mind filling this out for me first."

Jack and Nathan left the office and as soon as the door closed, Jack asked “So what was that eye roll for? Are they not going to check records?”

“No. Well,  _ yes _ .” Nathan said and pulled his keys out of his pocket. “They’re going to try and find out about your high school baseball career.”

“Really concerned about Walter and the town, huh?” Jack asked, knowing the answer.

“Yup.” Nathan said and popped the ‘p’. “So it’s just you and me. Shall we visit Susan Perkins or Leo Weinbrenner? I can send Jo out for whoever we don’t visit.”

“Susan Perkins.” Jack said a little amused that Nathan was including him in the decision making process. He didn’t need to, part of him wondered if it was a test, part of him wondered if it was to keep him around longer so he could figure out why he could feel him. “She’s trying to protect her family, we need to convince her that we want to help.”

“We’ll stop at the station on the way there, Marshall.”

"Call me Jack."

"If you call me, Nathan. We're partners." He said and could already feel Jo's lecture about getting too familiar with the guy. 

* * *

Jack and Nathan walked in the station and Jo was ready with a report. Jack hoped it wasn’t about where this world’s Jack Carter was and how he never played baseball. Jo didn’t look like she was going to pick him up and throw him in jail, so that was always a good sign.

“Found the back of the RV.” Jo said and held up a notepad. “Bill Cobb called to say his cabin floor has a huge hole in it and there is a new ‘ass end of an RV complete with some yappy dog’ in his boat dock.”

“Great work, Deputy.” Nathan said as he went over to her desk and took the memo, crumbled it and tossed it in the trash. 

Jack raised his eyebrows. Well  _ someone _ didn’t miss Sheriff Cobb. He turned just as the doors to the office squeaked and Susan Perkins marched in. At least some things were still on script.

“Where is Walter?” Susan demanded.

“Hello to you too, Mrs. Perkins.” Nathan said and sighed. “I assume you already checked ex-Sheriff Cobb’s cabin since he called in to report the damage."

"Along with trespassing, breaking and entering, animal abandonment and littering.” Jo added. "To name a few."

Jack raised his eyebrows at the tone. Clearly Cobb didn’t approve of Nathan’s sheriffing and had no problems stressing out Troubled people by calling them out on shit. He looked at Susan, who was clearly stressed, but since she was already undead he wasn’t sure what would come of that. 

“He can’t prove it was Walter.” Susan said.

“Your RV still has the plates on it.” Jo said. “The dog has a license.”

"You came running when he called." Nathan said, noting her distressed state which brought back memories of Bill Cobb's excellent interpersonal communication skills.

Susan looked ready to burst into tears so Nathan walked over, took her hand and led her over to his desk to sit down. He leaned on the desk and said, “Why don’t you tell us what happened?”

Susan looked past Nathan to the new guy. He was tall, blond, slender, fit his suit well and seemed extremely interested in her answers. She had never seen him before. “Who is he?”

“Jack Carter.” Jack walked over and held out his hand for her to shake. “US Marshall.”

“Oh, so you’re the Marshall.”

Jack nodded.  _ Small towns. _ “Yeah, I’d like to help. I’ve already been read in on Haven and how Troubles are not caused by like...Tachyon Accelerators for example, and I would really like to help.”

“Perhaps you should start by telling us why you were leaving town, Susan?” Nathan said with a smile. “While we were actively looking for your missing son? Perhaps it was to get Walter somewhere safe?”

“Yeah.” Susan said. “He’s been worried about work and Brian has been shoplifting recently...he lost control.”

“Was Brian really missing or was his loss a diversion so you could get Walter out of town?” Jack asked.

Susan started fidgeting. “Initially he was missing and we thought Walter might have hurt him. I was caught in the Trouble and by the time I came around Walter was back to normal but Brian was missing. So we looked for him and when we didn’t find him I called 9-1-1. Walter kept getting upset, so we decided it best to take him out of town. We were going to park the RV and let him stay in it at the campgrounds while I went home and waited for Brian. However Henry and Spenser were asking too many questions and Walter panicked and you saw what happened.”

“Walter must have been in the back of the RV when it was torn off, which explains how he ended up at Cobb’s place.” Nathan said to Jack who looked really intrigued by all of this. 

“So he went into Cobb’s cabin to use the phone?” Jo continued the line of thought. “When our former Sheriff probably pulled a gun on him and sent him on another Troubled trip somewhere along with Bill’s precious moose skin rug.”

“However,” Jack looked to Jo then Nathan. “He hasn’t resurfaced. Sounds like he’s quick to call for help.”

“He is. He calls me to allow me to calm him down.” Susan explained. “It’s very unnerving to disappear from one place and show up in another in the blink of an eye.”

_ Tell me about it _ . Jack thought and wondered if maybe that was how  _ he _ ended up in Haven. “I can imagine. Sounds like he’d just be jumping all over the place, reactivating his trouble like…”

“A cascading effect?” Nathan offered, repeating what Jack had said earlier. Jack smiled and nodded and it felt more and more like he was supposed to be here. They did make a good team. “He would have kept poking holes all over Haven, except we haven’t had any calls reporting disturbances. So you were probably onto something when you said he could be stuck between seconds.”

“I don’t understand.” Susan said and looked at the Marshall. “ _ Who is he _ ? How does he have answers about Troubles when he’s not from around here?”

“Question of the day.” Jo said and got a glance from Nathan that said s _ he wasn’t forgetting that thank you very much.  _ She worried about him, dating was difficult when your feelings were absent even if you were emotionally invested. Jack Carter shows up, with no explanation, and is everything Nathan wants physically and professionally. He seemed genuine though, he wanted to help, but he was way way too accepting of Haven and it’s Troubles. Nobody was that good. Well, he wasn't that lucky.

“We’ll figure that out when Walter is home safe.” Nathan said. “For now, the Marshall has been an immense help and I think he’s onto something here.”

_ So weird. _ Jack bit his lip as Nathan offered his support. “We just need to figure out where time is acting weird. Is there anyone who can maybe...detect a time anomaly?”

“Weinbrenner.” Nathan said and stood up. “He’s accidentally time looped Haven enough that he’s got protective measures in place to see when time is out of sync.”

“Well, that’s cool.” Jack said.

“It’s actually awful.” Nathan said and started walking towards the door and waved Jack along with him. “Time loops  _ suck _ .”

“Ok.” Jack said with a nod and followed him. Thank God he didn't have to deal with that scientific blunder yet. "I'll take your word for it."

“Jo, we’ll be back. Send Henry over to Cobb’s to get that RV out of his way and start on clean up.” Nathan said on his way out the door. 

"Have a good time." She said with a grin.

* * *

Leo Weinbrenner was a normal dude, as far as Jack could tell. He had explained that his first time discovering his Trouble was when he had been fired from his job and the overwhelming panic of looming unemployment gripped him. He was doomed to repeat the day over and over until he asked Nathan to help him figure out what was going on. 

_ Nathan Stark _ helped him calm down and believed him when he came to the Sheriff’s office and said he had a trouble that created time loops. Nathan even helped him find another job as the town maintenance guy!

Haven _was wild_!! Nathan seemed like a really great guy and a responsible Sheriff. It made Jack wonder who Eureka’s Nathan would be if he wasn’t molded by the stress of his chosen profession, or rather  _ every _ profession since the guy specialized in  _ everything. _ This Nathan simply wanted to protect his people and Jack understood that, he was really enjoying it if he was going to be honest. Even now while they were walking through the woods hoping Leo’s timey senses started to tingle so they could locate Walter before they stepped into his Trouble and it ripped off their limbs.

OK, so it wasn’t some  _ superpower, _ it was the genius idea of wearing two watches: an atomic watch on one wrist and a normal wind up watch on the other. Leo walked with his wrists side by side so he could yell when the wind up watch, that was solely here in Haven, started losing time per the atomic watch, which was reliant on radio frequencies from somewhere else to tell it what time it was. There was an alarm on the atomic watch too to let him know the other watch wasn't keeping up.

They weren’t scientists, but they were pretty clever and had some down to Earth solutions. 

They were able to narrow down a 2 mile radius where Walter could ‘jump’ with his wormhole thanks to a tourist map of town he picked up at the diner were they met Leo. Jack was learning that Troubles seemed to have a range that was very limited and most definitely confined to the city limits of Haven; something that sounded a little too convenient, but that was not his current problem and he filed that away for later. Something else he should file away for later was his concern that wormholes were the reason he was in Haven. From what he knew, they could be time transport tunnels and also a very sci-fi way to die. His instinct told him to fix this, save Walter and not jump through a wormhole to test the hypothesis. He was more than a little worried that it might just close the door on his way home, though.

Oh God, he couldn’t believe what was going through his own mind anymore. Hypothesis? Wormhole theory?  _ What the fuck _ .

“I got something.” Leo said.

“How close are we going to let him get?” Jack asked Nathan, forgetting his own dilemma to protect these three people around him as best he could. Walter, Leo and Nathan had a problem more urgent than him being lost. “And how do we activate his trouble?”

“I think the fear of being close enough to be killed by Walter will do the trick?” Nathan said and showed Jack his bandage on which he wrote in sharpie ‘Time loop. Tell Leo.’ in case they had all this go sideways. “And if it doesn’t save Walter, we get to do it all over again.”

Jack nodded and they walked another ten feet before Leo lifted his arms up to cover his face and froze in place. “Well, that can’t be good.”

Nathan watched as Walter appeared out of nowhere and went flying into a bunch of saplings right before he tumbled down a hill. They heard twigs snap and leaves rustle as the missing person reappeared and appeared to ensured himself a trip to the hospital. “Well, I’ll be damned. I can’t believe that actually worked.”

“Real confidence inspiring, Nathan.” Jack said and saw the guy smile and shrug. He had a beautiful smile, something he wasn’t afraid to wear, and it was a shame that his Nathan,  _ no Eureka’s _ , only wore a scowl or smirk. They were two entirely different people.

Nathan shrugged. “With great risks, come great rewards.”

Some things were the same however, but still completely different contexts. He pried his eyes from Nathan's smile and looked over to see Leo look around for Walter. He spn around before realizing he blasted him out of invisibility and off the hillside as Walter started screaming for help he leaned over to Nathan and whispered, “How will we know if he time loops us?” 

“We’ll get to do this all over again.” Nathan said cheerily and showed him his bandage.

“It’s a date.” Jack said and then tapped the bandage with his finger. “I’ll buy you a coffee this time around.”

Nathan cleared his throat. Jack really had a knack for saying things that would fluster him. “Coffee’s free.”

It was Jack’s turn to freeze in place and feel like this was a genuine repeat of his first time in Eureka. It reminded him that he really needed to figure out a way home, and to do that, he was going to have to ask Nathan for help. That meant coming clean about who he was and running the risk that it would land him in trouble. Weird that the trouble would be that _he_ was a threat instead of the threat of Nathan mocking him. It was only a matter of time before it all caught up to him, it was best to be honest now. 

“Everything OK?” Nathan asked as he realized Carter had just stopped in place and he feared he might have gotten caught in a Trouble. “Jack?”

“Would we really remember about the time loop if this was a time loop?” Jack asked, covering for his momentary ‘Deja Vu all over again’ moment. 

“You’re right, Marshall Science, we should be trouble free for the moment.” Nathan said and that got a smile from Jack as they both walked over to the edge of the hill and they saw Walter pushing himself off a tree covered in poison ivy. “Oh, he’s going to wish he had my Trouble soon.”

Jack watched Leo hand Walter his cell phone so he could call his wife and let her know he was safe. “Are you sure you don’t want that cup of coffee anyway? I owe you some answers about my trouble.”

Nathan said, “Uh sure. I’ll call Jo and have her bring Susan out to get her husband and Henry’s already on clean up duty. Plus I need to find you somewhere to stay the night, unless you want to claim my couch?”

Jack didn’t mask his surprise. That was a very gracious offer. “Let’s talk and make sure you don’t want to lock my ass up first.”

“Then let’s get dinner.” Nathan said and could hear his voice crack. Jack seemed to pick up on that inflection in his voice and he held his breath for a second in case he reacted poorly to the implication he wanted to make it a real date. He could see Jack didn’t take it that way from the look on his face, it was the look of a guy who couldn’t pay for dinner because he lost his wallet. So he did what he always did and chickened out and made it about work. “My treat, the least I can do for your help today and for my Deputy arresting you. Beer will probably be the best medicine for those bruises and you can’t come to Maine and not have lobster. It’s pretty cheap here, always the daily special, and most of the locals just want a burger. The patio is pretty private, we can talk there without anyone bothering us.”

Jack nodded. “Thanks. That sounds great.” 

* * *

Nathan took him to the local restaurant and bar that sat on the harbor. It was complete with boat dock, patio, fresh fish was on the menu, and cold beer on tap. They had the patio all to themselves and he was enjoying the smell of the ocean and watching the ships come in for the evening. It was weird the things you took for granted that you missed when you moved away from the coast: the smell of the sea and the delicious things to eat that came from it. They ordered and Nathan seemed fidgety, so he decided to get this over with. “Nathan, I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

“You’re not really a US Marshall?” Nathan asked, somewhat joking. 

“I am, but...well...not anymore.” Jack ran his hand over the back of his neck and said. “What I mean is, I’m not from here.”

“Yeah, you’re from L.A….” 

“No." Jack took a deep breath and committed to outing himself. "I’m the Sheriff of a small town called Eureka. Eureka, Oregon. In another timeline, or universe or outside of my possibly damaged brain.”

“OK, I wasn’t expecting that.” Nathan admitted. Of course the guy he could feel and felt attracted to was from another planet. Great.

Jack didn’t know how to begin. He thought it best to show one of the biggest differences that said that he was a long way from home. “In my world, or whatever, Nathan Stark is a brilliant scientist who runs the most advanced scientific facility in the world and I’m just an average Sheriff of a company town. Science causes our problems, not Troubles. He’s nothing like you and I am definitely not a scientist.”

“Really?” Nathan said thoughtfully. “A scientist? My grades in biology and chemistry in high school almost got me kicked off the baseball team.”

“Yeah. A super scientist with a Nobel prize, three PhDs….big deal. Big ego. Eureka is a whole town of science nerds who worship him like a god. He runs the place like people are renewable resources. Huge asshole, actually.” Jack said and played with his napkin as a harbor breeze threatened to blow it away. “Pretty sure he’s the reason I am here, as I was on a date with his ex-wife when I got a call about the Allbright’s lab having some kind of melt down. Jealous ass. Anyhow, I walked into their barn and walked out in Haven. So it’s some kind of wormhole or something. I don’t know. I’m the guy who figures out what went wrong, who to blame and who to go to for a fix. I’m just the cop who saves them from themselves.”

“Did you say,  _ a barn _ ?” Nathan asked, that information was enough to move him past the mention of a date with an ex-wife despite Jack being kinda fixated on describing this other Nathan. 

“Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous, but in Eureka they weaponize  _ everything _ .”

“No, I didn’t mean…” Nathan sat back in his chair and looked at Jack and realized it was his shit ass luck that he’d have the hots for a guy who was prophesied to save Haven from it’s Troubles with the implication he was going to die doing it. “We have a local legend about a barn that will disappear and reappear and...a stranger who comes and goes with it.”

Oh, that was not what he was expecting. “I’m not someone special, I’m just the victim of a science experiment gone wrong.”

“Because the other me didn’t want you dating his ex-wife?” Nathan focused on that now. _That_ could go either way, right? Ex-wife meant things didn’t work out so maybe that jealousy was about Jack? He was going to have to ask. Oh God, he didn’t want to ask.

“Yeah.” Jack rolled his eyes as he thought about the smug smile on Stark’s face as he chirped ‘scared of the dark, Sheriff?’ when he cautiously went to inspect the Allbright barn. Of all the times he should have thrown his gun and flashlight at the guy and told him to do it himself….

“Do you want me to drive you back to the barn?” Nathan asked. Maybe this was about going home? Maybe this was over before it could begin.

“I went back into it and it was just a barn.” Jack shrugged. “I suppose I can try going back in there again, but it’s getting dark and it was a hike to get to Haven with no access roads that I could see. However the barn was activated, it was definitely turned off when I went back in. Maybe someone with a trouble can turn it back on?”

“We’ll have to stop by the newspaper office tomorrow and see what Fargo and Larry turn up. They’re be able to tell you more about the barn lore than I will.” Nathan said, happy he had a little more time with him. He hated himself for being so needy, but there was no way he was going to deny he was touch starved and desperate for every little feeling he could get.

Jack nodded. “Yeah, it’s been a hell of a day. I’m not going to complain about dinner, a shower and throwing these damned dress shoes in the trash.”

“I think you should be prepared for the reaction you’re going to get when you tell them about the barn. It’s a big deal in Haven. Taking away the Troubles and locking them away in the barn is something people pray for. It means people will finally be free and able to live lives unburdened by this curse that keeps them hidden away in our corner of the world.” Nathan said and considered the implications of that. This whole town was going to be looking at Jack like he was a God and  _ that  _ would not go over well with the Reverend.

“So this really is a kind of hell for all of you?” Jack said as he watched Nathan’s face. “Unable to control your abilities and locked away in this small town for your own safety?”

“Well, I didn’t quite see it like that until you put it  _ that _ way.” Nathan snorted and reached for his beer. 

“Sorry.” Jack said. 

“Why? It’s what we’ve all been trying to deny. It’s not your fault.” Nathan took a sip of beer and savored the taste and cleared his throat. “I have to admit that I haven’t been really honest with you either.”

“I swear to God Nathan, if this is some elaborate joke and we’re in some A.I. simulation, I will shoot you.” Jack said, and to his satisfaction the guy just smiled at him amused. There was that smile again. If Eureka’s Nathan was dark and brooding, Haven’s was light and open and honest. It wasn’t just the clothes either, the entire weight of his personality was different: from dense and impenetrable stubborn shit to a soft and malleable guy struggling with a curse. A curse that made him feel less human versus a guy who lacked the humanity and made him curse all the time. He would never believe he could see the sins versus virtue comparison in reality before this.

“No. I’m still just me. Sheriff not a doctor.” Nathan said and took a deep breath, his nerves making his gut churn the little bit of beer he drank. “I...asked you to dinner...as a...date. Like a  _ date _ date.”

Jack raised his eyebrows. All those really intellectual thoughts in his head just turned to mush and melted away as his entire brain screamed ‘ _ what _ ’?

“If you’re not into guys…..well it’s not any vibe you gave me or anything I just find you attractive and…”

“I’ve swung a lot of things that might surprise you, Sheriff.” Jack said, words from his own past but not his own mouth seeming to be the right ones for this moment. The confusion on Nathan’s face was priceless. He was really transparent and...beautiful.

“What does that even mean?”

Jack laughed and gave him a warm smile. “It means I’m very much bisexual and have appreciated the body of Nathan Stark on several occasions, but his shitty personality and ethics leave it at that. You, however, are most definitely _not him_. 

“Ok.” Nathan said and wondered where that left them.

"Personality that is. I have appreciated how good you look in my pants....OK so that's not helping.” Jack clarified after he realized what he said could be construed as an insult. “Is this...just because you can feel me?” 

“I don’t know.” Nathan replied, then shook his head emphatically. “It’s part of it, but I really am attracted to you separate of that. The touch is a little overwhelming honestly, but I’ve really enjoyed your company today. I just felt like I needed to be honest with you about this in case you wanted to take me up on the offer of my couch. Full disclosure.”

Jack watched him play with his hand, a nervous habit he noticed his Nathan, dammit  _ Eureka’s _ Nathan, had as well. Nathan's eyes were everywhere _but_ looking at him and there was a pink tinge of embarrassment to his face. He was nervous and he had never seen Nathan Stark look unsure of anything, yet here he was: nervous, because he confessed his attraction to him and that this was an intended first date. It was adorable and honest. Opposite World was absolutely crazy. Jack reached out and took his unbandaged hand from across the table to make sure he made eye contact with him again and said, “I do have to find a way home, Nathan, I don’t want to start something that could end at any moment as that would be cruel to both of us but...I also don’t want to miss out on something because I’m afraid it will end. I honestly don’t know what’s going on, I could be dead, I could have a concussion, this could be a genuine alternate reality.... ”

Nathan caught his breath as he felt Jack’s touch and felt everything, including the biley beer taste raising in his throat from being so nervous. 

“I know It would be stupid to let that stop us,” Jack said and swallowed hard because this was less than a day from his first date with Allison which took years to make happen. Yet here he was, possibly more excited about a date with Nathan than the awkward dinner with Ally at Cafe Diem. “Because our lives revolve around stopping some world-ending catastrophe and it’s dumb to start playing safe now.”

“OK.” Nathan finally made his brain function again. He wasn’t sure where to go from here because he didn’t expect to get this far. 

Jack kept rubbing Nathan’s hand and he could see how intense of an effect it had on the guy and he realized it was his turn to be the bold one, to take a chance and see what happened. Push his own boundaries and break out of this deep freeze he had been in since his divorce: Frozen in place due to the fear of warming up to someone again, the fear of becoming that angry at someone he once loved again. However this wasn’t like Allison, he couldn’t play it safe and count on a long defrost, he didn’t have that kind of time. This was a once in a lifetime chance and he needed to take it. “So, yeah, I’d like to go home with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said I was trying to stay with the theme of the Divine comedy and part of that is to parallel that journey from Earth, to Limbo through Hell and eventually to Heaven. ( I promise, no character death, it's a symbolic journey. ) While Jack is transported to his version of Heaven where he's going to be the savior, with all the answers, and everyone appreciates and accepts him, Haven's Nathan is going from a hell of no-touch and troubled town to walk along beside his companion to find a better life. Next chapter their journey overlaps in Purgurtory before going in separate directions to Hell and Heaven. 
> 
> Meanwhile in Eureka, Nathan Stark is also on his own journey from Heaven to Hell. Which you all should be thanking me for sparing you the hell of 20k word chapters and including that. However it will end up being a companion piece to this story when I finish this. Yeah, cause I need another WIP. 
> 
> I carried over a few things from Dante's Inferno, like Jack's little internal reflection about feeling frozen in moving forward in romance. In the Inferno, the very last circle of hell is for the Wrathful and where the Devil is frozen in the ice. It's the the coldest part of hell, the furthest from love and warmth of heaven. 
> 
> It's all a journey.
> 
> Nathan calling Jack 'Marshall Science' is a nod to the LiveJournal Nathan/Jack community.


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